Ghana Together works with our Ghanaian friends of Western Heritage Home, a Ghanaian-registered and managed non-profit, to improve social, educational, and health conditions in Axim, Ghana. Together we accomplish projects, connect WHH to resourceful individuals and organizations, and create sustainable programs. We make a real difference to real people in a local, grassroots effort.
Our website at http://ghanatogether.org tells our story.

Nov 21, 2014

For those of you (most of the Americans on our list) who receive our annual update letter by snail mail, you can skip this (we just aren't smart enough to figure out how to slice and dice...)

We can truly say, “Missions Accomplished” this November,
2014!

These strong young women are the future of Axim, and the
future of Ghana!And we are helping them
to help themselves.The collaborative
relationship between us (including each of you!) and Ghana Together, and the
local leaders in Axim and the youth of Axim, is producing results now that will
ripple out to the broader community and beyond!

These high school girls spent the day clearing the land
around their Axim All-Girls Senior High School. They are celebrating because,
thanks to your contributions, this year we renovated a decrepit building on
their campus into a dining, assembly, and study area.The local PTA is providing tables and benches
and interior clean-up.

These kinds of partnerships between ourselves and our
Ghanaian associates are what enable real progress.

It was a good year! Thanks to your contributions and
gifts, in addition to the high school building renovation, we:

---renovated a Central Axim Junior High School building,
providing two new large classrooms so students can attend all day rather than
half days, and administrative space for teachers to meet and gather.

---created the One Laptop per Child laboratory next to
the children’s room in the public library, with fifty OLPCs, electrical
installation (works when power is on), and work tables and benches. It drew thirty to forty children a day during
vacation periods, and continues to serve many after school and on
Saturdays---and about half are girls!

---shipped literally hundreds of high quality children’s
books, providing stories and reading for local children who have never before
had access to books. It takes a team. Friends in the US who acquire books… a
friend in Maryland who works with his friend, a commercial shipper…friends in
Ghana who go to the port at Tema, pick them up, and transport them to Nzema
East area. We threw in some neat dinosaur puzzles and science posters, too!
THANKS TO YOU ALL!!

---acquired a motorized tricycle to carry books to
schools too far from Axim Center for children to walk to the library

---funded 72 scholarships.These include young adults learning trades at
the Community Development Vocational Institute, elementary school children at
the Apewosika School serving Axim’s poorest population, and our Western
Heritage Home youth whom we’ve been supporting since the beginning and who are
themselves starting to make their marks in the world.Charlotte and Philomena are top in their
class, and they and Peter are now on full scholarships from the Ghana National
Petroleum Corporation due to their academic achievements.

We loved connecting local Axim leaders with the Pacific
Northwest Chapter of Engineers Without Borders (Bellingham). They amazed the
town by building a UDDT low-impact toilet at an Axim JHS. Headmistress Yawson
reports it’s working “very, very well.” The students have some ideas for
improving the design---EWB engineers…listen up!!! J

Because we collaborate closely with our Ghanaian friends
and partners and track carefully the emerging needs and goals, our plans
develop as the area develops. We have counted on nearly bi-annual trips to Axim
to nourish personal relationships and our understanding of where we can make
the best use of our resources and talents.

However, the devastating Ebola outbreak forced
cancellation for our visit to Axim in September. Therefore our goals for 2015
are not as developed as we’d like them to be. But, now that the Ebola situation
in Ghana is better understood, Maryanne Ward intends to visit Ghana in early
2015 to review projects and nail down plans with local leaders there.

So, in spite of some uncertainty, we do ask for your
support in 2015. We know for sure we’d like to:

---Continue to support students with scholarships

---Expand and improve living space in the Western
Heritage Home, which is now a dormitory for girls from surrounding regions
attending Axim Girls High School.They
now have a place to live. As more girls arrive, we want to provide the
additional beds, tables, and benches to give them the best possible learning
environment.

---Ship more high quality children’s books (contact us if
you have some books or want to discuss).

---Work with “Unleash Kids” to provide the Axim All-Girls
High School with Internet-In-A-Box (IIAB). The school has a new computer lab
stocked with notebook computers provided by the Ghana Education Service, but it
does not have internet access. IIAB will give the girls access to research
materials such as Wikipedia (in English, French, Arabic, and Swahili), Khan
Academy Math and Science videos, world maps, medical encyclopedia, and other
excellent resources.

And this year, sadly, we lost Tom Castor, one of our
founding board directors. Tom, a retired businessman, could be a somewhat
gruff, no-nonsense kind of guy, but he melted in the presence of our Ghanaian WHH
Scholars who, after their initial shyness, approached him fearlessly, and
called him “Uncle Tom.” A gentle white man who didn’t mind if they touched his
skin (“does his feel the same as mine?”) or tried to figure out his fancy
camera. Tom loved tramping around Axim with his GPS system, mapping water
spigots, greeting adults, and being followed by a trail of inquisitive
children. And, as our Vice-President for nearly nine years, Tom made sure our
organization ran in a businesslike, professional manner. We all miss him so
much.

We thank you for your partnership in these projects that
change individual lives and community futures.We again assure you that we use 100% of your donations toward our
projects.We on the board handle all
administrative activities, travel, and other costs.